Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers a day. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Persil, Dove, Knorr, Domestos, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Wall’s, PG Tips, Ben & Jerry’s, Marmite, Magnum and Lynx. Faced with the challenge of climate change and the need for human development, we want to move towards a world where everyone can live well and within the natural limits of the planet. That’s why our purpose is ‘to make sustainable living commonplace”

We are a global team who innovate boldly to create the products and experiences that improve people’s health, confidence and wellbeing and positively impact the health of the planet. This in turn drives sustainable, profitable growth for Unilever and our much-loved brands.

We are the innovators, scientists, engineers, chefs, technologists, regulatory experts and data scientists, bringing to life our ambitions, without being afraid to challenge our own thinking to get there.

We are award-winning leaders recognised for our expertise, celebrating the diversity and creativity in each and every one of us that makes our innovations come to life.

We are Unilever R&D.

Job Purpose

The future begins in Research & Development (R&D). In R&D, you’ll find out what consumers want and need, and then design the science and technology to make our innovations come to life. We have over 6,000 R&D employees designing, creatingand developing exciting new products using innovative technologies - from scientists and product development experts to professionals such as hairdressers and chefs who have the skills to evaluate new products. You could be designing and developing new innovations forbrands like TRESemmé, Magnum, Cornetto and Domestos – straight from your team to the shelves! 

At the core of our values is sustainability, and our teams are dedicated to making our products better for you, for our customers and for the world. We are committed to ensuring that all of our packaging is fully reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, and that we are using more recycled content. To achieve this, we collaborate closely within the various R&D teams, with other Unilever colleagues like Marketeers and the Supply Chain, and with leading scientific experts from around the world. 

BACKGROUND

Unilever’s Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC) is responsible for protecting consumers, workers and our environment by ensuring Unilever’s products and processes are safe & sustainable by design.  This is a permanent role focussed on the use of Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) Models and approaches as part of the application of Next Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA).  You will be required to work with a range of scientific experts in a number of different disciplines and be able to communicate effectively with stakeholders and provide training for experts and non-experts within SEAC. This role sits within SEAC’s computational science team consisting of computational chemists, bioinformaticians, data scientists and mathematical modellers.

The group is responsible for developing and applying new computational approaches for risk and impact assessment and ensuring that these are embedded within the organisation.  The group also provides the models and expert analyses that underpin both internal risk assessments and global chemical registrations for Unilever’s diverse portfolio of products. 

This is the chance to tackle a variety of challenges, working across projects with colleagues from diverse disciplines. You will work alongside some of the industry’s most respected scientists, learning new computational approaches, growing as a professional and enjoying opportunities to publish and present. In addition, of course, you will have fantastic career opportunities within a successful global company that is focused on winning every day.

RESPONSIBILITIES

As a PBPK modeller your primary responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Apply understanding of ADME to interpret TK to inform the development/application of PBPK exposure models
• Primarily to apply PBPK and/or pregnancy PBPK models for systemic exposure predictions.
• Independently build and validate PBPK models to support evaluation of absorption and systemic exposure potential from dermal absorption route
• Input into the internal scientific research strategy
• Contribute to on-going safety assessments by applying critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Provide technical leadership & training to both experts and non-experts to ensure novel cheminformatic approaches are embedded within the organisation
• Routinely present knowledge and progress internally at various technical levels
• Publish and present externally on novel approaches
• Collaborate with others in the computational science team and across SEAC to promote best practice
• Promote acceptance of new scientific approaches externally through interactions with Key Opinion Formers (KOFs) with international reputation and influence

ALL ABOUT YOU

Essential experience

• PhD in a quantitative discipline or 3+ years’ experience in a relevant scientific discipline (Maths, Toxicology, pharmacology, biochemistry or other ADME/DMPK related science)
• Practical experience of applying PBPK software Gastroplus (or equivalent) or PK-Sims.
• Demonstrable experience of using ADME parameters to inform development of (influence of chemical-dependent parameters on TK) and interpret output from PBPK models in the context of NGRA
• Understanding of the in vitro/ in vivo experiments used to describe general ADME principles.
• Successful track record of applying PBPK and/or pregnancy PBPK into projects
• Strong problem-solving capability and ability to work autonomously
• Strong and effective influencing and communication skills
• Ability to lead and motivate others
• Ability to communicate complex concepts to a non-expert audience

Desirable experience

• Evidence of knowledge/experience/skills on skin absorption from both experimental and modelling perspective
• Experience in programming

WHAT WE OFFER

Not only do we offer a competitive salary, but also our pension scheme, a discretionary annual bonus, where possible we provide either on-site gym facilities or discounted gym membership for local facilities for employees, a staff shop and shares. You’ll get the opportunity to work directly with our renowned and exciting brands in a flexible and agile environment. We strive to achieve a family-friendly culture and to, above all, create possibilities for all.

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.

Recruitment Fraud

Cyber criminals advertise fake job adverts with prestigious employers as a way of stealing information or even defrauding individuals out of money.

In the most sophisticated cases, they will set up fake websites, which have a similar address to companies like Unilever. They even conduct fake telephone interviews and then offer candidates a role with the proviso they pay a fee for background checks or to cover work visa costs.  These types of attacks are becoming more common as more people are looking for employment in the economic climate.

How is Unilever tackling this?

Many of Unilever’s recruitment sites publish a warning to candidates about recruitment fraud. The Cyber Security team also proactively scan for signs of people setting up fake Unilever sites and act to close them down.

What can I do?

If you become aware of potential recruitment fraud, spot fake Unilever recruitment adverts or fake LinkedIn profiles, report them to the IT Services Desk via Una Live Chat.

Unilever does not accept responsibility or liability for any candidates who are financially impacted by recruitment fraud. Your vigilance is key!